Vision of Loveliness
by AngelicView
Summary: InuKag. Kagome's death and Inuyasha's fate. c h a p (2) u p
1. Where It Ends

Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me. Neither does anyone who is remotely connected to him.

Notes before starting:

· _Italics _are text/quotes

· This is a one shot until I decide to change it.

· Reviews appreciated, criticism's welcomed, and unjustified flames are prohibited.

Enjoy.

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The silence that surrounded her was deathly. She saw mouths moving, forming, but sound did not accompany the words that flowed. Dimly, she was aware of someone calling her name and she turned her head slightly, to acknowledge the speaker and to give one final look. It was right, she knew, and it was the only way it would end. All the suffering, the pain, and the injustice- she would set it right and give the ones she loved what they wanted most.

In turn, her life would be payment.

Her hand fisted around the round, smooth surface of the Shikon no Tama. It had begun with this and she would ensure that it would end right here.

_'Forgive me, Inuyasha.'_ With one last ounce of strength and courage, she whispered words that were carried softly by the wind, past through the desperate cries of her best friend, across the cheek of a frantic monk, and woven around the hysterical kitsune to the hanyou that was calling her name; it caressed his being, bringing it's contents softly for him to hear. If his tears could save her, he would've shed an ocean full.

With a final breath, she felt the ball split into thousands of pieces of light, vanishing and death crept behind her to claim its prize. She resisted, unused to the cold fingers that wrapped itself around her, but the fatigue was seeping in and she soon resigned herself to the endless slumber that had already been guaranteed.

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_I need you here with me…_

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She sighed softly, as the world she once walked shifted. People changed, events that was were was no more, timelines changed, and lives merged and separated. She watched, though she didn't really see, as those she once, still, loved breathed their first breath, and she watched as they grew and learned. She smiled a little, to no one but herself, as the dull ache in her chest was overshadowed by the satisfaction she felt.

Content she was, and as such, her task was complete. Her memories began to fade, just as her soul began to diminish, its light fading…

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_Haven't you…_

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… And she started to forget. Her name, her life, her friends, her family…

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_… Realized that yet?_

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… And Inuyasha.

Off in the fields not far from the bone-eater well, Inuyasha paused mid-stride. Distantly, he felt as if he was forgetting something of incredible importance, something that was extremely dear to him. He frowned, staring off into the woods as if what he was looking for was hidden in the canopies and shadows of the forest.

"Inuyasha?"

He waited another beat, and then made his way to Kikyou, who waited for him patiently. Perhaps it was his imagination after all.

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AN: I really wanted to write this. I don't know why. After an eternity of not writing, I just popped up with this. It's unedited and very raw, so I can imagine there are more than a few spelling and writing errors. Enjoy it or not, it was a sad piece for me to write. I don't know if I should make this into a story by itself or leave it as a one-shot. Any suggestions?


	2. The Flower Fields

Disclaimer: Does not belong to me. Inuyasha Me Nope.

Enjoy.

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"The village had been rampaged," the old village man said, "No one's left, and the demon… it tore through everything like paper." His bottom lip trembled and he tightened his hold on the child by his side. Kikyou nodded knowingly, freeing the man from the need of any more information. She watched as he hobbled away, his grandson in tow. Kaede would attend to their wounds, while she would make the journey over to their neighboring village to survey the damage and to make sure survivors were not left behind.

The journey there should take her no more than half a day, she calculated, and the journey back would be done during the night. It was of no obstacle to travel during the night for her and she preferred the stillness of the evening to the constant activity of the day.

And Inuyasha would make certain of her safety.

The thought of the hanyou made her heart skip a tiny beat. She betrayed no expression, no hint that the lost beat was lost at all. He had been listening, she knew, in the canopies of the trees bordering the village, just as she knew that he would accompany her. Perhaps not in full view- her fellow villagers would never understand- but alongside in the shadows.

_Perhaps he knew of a demon that devoured humans and stole away with maidens_, she recalled from the villagers' description. Rare indeed was a youkai that did not kill every living person in it's area, and even rarer for any to be attracted to human maidens. _Perhaps it is a sign of the changing times, _she mused. Youkai numbers had diminished slowly, but surely, and humanity had grown in population, inhabiting areas that were once breeding grounds of thousands of youkai. Kikyou noticed the change in the number of youkai that hunted after her, desperate to take her life and reclaim the lands upon which those she protected resided. _Changing times indeed. _

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She walked quickly, efficient in travel just as she was efficient in all other things. Inuyasha had no trouble keeping up, hopping with little effort across the higher branches of the trees. He kept a constant eye on her moving form, weary of his surroundings. Kikyou was fully capable of handling herself but it made himself feel better to destroy the threat before she would have to deal with it.

She was, after all, an integral part of him.

And if she ever found out, he'd have to find himself a big, fat hole to bury himself in. He suspected she knew to some extent, but verbally, it would've been extremely awkward. And he liked the arrangement they had now and why change a good thing?

The trip did take about a half a day. When they reached edge of the destroyed village, Inuyasha leapt off the last branch and landed softly a few feet behind her as she surveyed the scene in front of her.

The damage had truly been awesome.

It looked as if a tornado had swept through, tearing and ripping apart the once sturdy wood houses and barns. Farms were destroyed and the corpses of the farm animals suggested a similar fate. Along the edges of the path that flowed through the middle of the destruction, bodies of villagers, mostly older in age and male, were strewn haphazardly on the ground.

She would have to perform a burial ceremony for all the deceased soon, or their souls would be trapped. Her first job was, however, to seek out survivors. She doubted there were many, if any, and glanced over at Inuyasha to confirm. He sniffed the air and shook his head.

And then, all hell broke loose.

Or perhaps the closet thing to hell without being dead.

It came out from under him, the length of its claws double his own height. Caught off guard, he found himself caged like a bird, disoriented and thoroughly pissed when he realized how easy he was captured. The huge claws protruding from the even large hand met together at the tips, forming a makeshift bird cage that effectively imprisoned him.

And he had heard nothing nor smelt anything telling sounds or scents to give off the youkai's presence. One look at Kikyou told him she had had no prior indication either. He slashed his own claws upon the soft flesh of the youkai's palm, and growled when it triggered no reaction. By now, the youkai had emerged fully. A large demon with horns of a bull and fangs that protruded from the top of his teeth and curved around his chin, it was ugly, strong and unforgiving.

Kikyou latched an arrow and aimed her bow.

The youkai smiled at her, as if a joke between friends had been made. Slowly, he closed his hand, curling it into a fist and shoving Inuyasha inside. Inuyasha slashed at the hand desperately, aware of the fingers pressing against him. He would die from suffocation first. He struggled even when his vision started to turn black at the edges, but unconsciousness shoved back at him, persistent and stubborn and he fell to it with the name of his beloved on his lips.

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He found himself wandering the fields not far from Kikyou's village.

All around him, people slept upon the flowers, curled up as if they were balls. Occasionally, he noticed that a bright light would emit from a slumbering form, rising high until it seemed to disappear into the sky and soon, the body would fade and be replaced by another.

Perhaps he had died.

But he was not a sleeping form, he reasoned, and he was fully aware of himself and his environment. Frowning, he traveled between the sleeping- souls, would you call it? - hoping he could find an exit or something of the sort.

That is, until he noticed the face of one of the sleeping souls.

She was young, pretty, with dark hair that framed a gentle face. She seemed more transparent than the others; the contrast apparent when one took in the sleeping souls around her. But he didn't pause for a pretty face. No… not a pretty face… but…

Why did she look so much like Kikyou?

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AN: "WTF?? Finish your other story!!" I know, I know, but I couldn't resist. Yes, my dear readers, it is a confusing chapter. And short. Real short. Whatever. I tried. ) R/R. Oh, and if there are spelling/grammar errors, please disregard those. This whole story will probably be very raw.


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